
About Airplanes
Group
Airplanes
Group refers to Airplanes Limited, a limited liability company formed
under the laws of Jersey, Channel Islands and Airplanes U.S. Trust,
a Delaware business trust. On March 28, 1996, we established eight separate
pass through trusts to issue and sell $4,048 million in aggregate principal
amount of subclass A-1, A-2, A-3, A-4 and A-5 and class B, C and D pass
through certificates in an underwritten offering. We used the proceeds
from this offering, together with the proceeds from the sale of the
class E notes of Airplanes Limited and Airplanes U.S. Trust to GPA Group
plc (now known as AerCap Ireland limited), to acquire a portfolio of
229 aircraft from GPA Group and its subsidiaries. We use the rental
payments that we receive from leasing the aircraft together with the
proceeds of sale of the aircraft to pay interest and principal on this
debt.
On March
16, 1998, we established four additional pass through trusts to issue
and sell $2,437 million in aggregate principal amount of subclass A-6,
A-7 and A-8 and class B certificates in connection with the refinancing
of our subclass A-1, A-2 and A-3 and class B certificates. On November
20, 1998, General Electric Capital Corporation ("GE Capital")
acquired a majority of the class E notes from AerFi Group (previously
known as GPA Group and now known as AerCap Ireland) and its subsidiaries.
We established
an additional pass through trust on March 15, 2001 to issue and sell
$750 million in aggregate principal amount of subclass A-9 certificates.
We used the proceeds from this offering to refinance our subclass A-4
and A-7 certificates. Our subclass A-5 certificates were fully repaid
as of May 15, 1998. Our subclass A-6 certificates were fully repaid
as of October 15, 2004. Our subclass A-8 certificates were fully repaid
(save for accrued step-up interest and accrued interest thereon) on
November 15, 2010.
Service
Providers
GE Commercial Aviation Services Limited
("GECAS") provides various aircraft-related services to
us as servicer under a servicing agreement. GECAS holds 5% of the ordinary
share capital of our subsidiary, Airplanes Holdings Limited. GE Capital,
as the holder of the majority in aggregate principal amount of the class
E notes issued by Airplanes Limited, has the right to appoint one director
to the board of Airplanes Limited but is not currently exercising such
right. GE Capital previously had the right to appoint one controlling
trustee of Airplanes U.S. Trust.
GECAS is
a global commercial aviation financial services company that offers
a broad range of aircraft financial products and provides management,
marketing and technical support services to airlines, aircraft owners,
lenders and investors and various third parties, including Airplanes
Group.
GECAS and
its affiliates offer such financial products as finance leases (including
both direct financing and leveraged leases), operating leases and other
structured finance products (including aircraft securitization vehicles).
Its management services include collecting rental payments, arranging
and monitoring aircraft maintenance performed by others, limited technical
inspection of aircraft, arranging and monitoring insurance, arranging
for aircraft valuations, registration and de-registration, monitoring
compliance with leases, enforcement of lease provisions against lessees,
confirming compliance with applicable airworthiness directives and facilitating
delivery and redelivery of aircraft. GECAS also arrange sales of aircraft
to third parties. GECAS, its affiliate GE Capital, or any of its other
affiliates may acquire debt or beneficial interests in other securitization
vehicles that own a portfolio of aircraft assets.
Subsidiaries
of AerCap Ireland serve as our administrative agent and cash manager.
AerCap Ireland is a wholly-owned indirect subsidiary of AerCap Holdings
N.V., a major participant in the global commercial aviation industry.
AerCap Holdings N.V., directly and through AerCap Ireland and other
subsidiaries, also owns and manages aircraft, both for its own account
and for third parties, including AerCo, ALS and ALS II, three other
aircraft securitization vehicles. AerCap Ireland is also the holder
of all of the class E-1 and E-2 notes of AerCo, all of the class E-1
and E-2 notes issued by ALS and all of the class E-1 notes issued by
ALS II. AerCap Ireland and its subsidiary acts as servicer for the portfolio
of aircraft owned by AerCo, ALS and ALS II. Subsidiaries of AerCap Ireland
also act as administrative agent and cash manager to AerCo and as administrative
agent to ALS and ALS II.
AerCap
Ireland is located in Shannon, Ireland. AerCap Holdings N.V. has
its headquarters in Amsterdam, the Netherlands and it also has offices
and facilities in Florida, Arizona, Texas, Beijing, Singapore, Abu Dhabi
and the United Kingdom. Deutsche Bank Trust Company Americas acts as
Pass Through Trustee.
Payments
on Certificates
Our cashflows derive primarily from aircraft leases and sales of aircraft
and are required to be applied according to a specified priority of
payments set out in the trust indentures.
We have
been unable to meet all of the base case assumptions set out in our
original prospectus dated March 28, 1996 or in our prospectus dated
March 8, 2001. Even before the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks
in the U.S., the worldwide economy had begun to weaken and the events
of 9/11 exacerbated that weakness. Since then, despite a brief period
(2005 - 2007) in which the aircraft industry strengthened and the overall
improvements since the beginning of 2010, the industry has been generally
challenged. For our portfolio of older, less fuel-efficient aircraft,
the effects of years of weakness in the industry are felt more acutely;
whatever demand exists will tend to favour newer, more efficient aircraft
and our lease rates and aircraft values consequently suffer. Because
of earlier restructurings and the fact that not all of our leases came
up for renewal in the period 2005 - 2007, we could not benefit fully
from the relative but temporary improvements in lease rates and values
that even some of the older aircraft experienced in that period. We
are thus generating revenues at significantly lower levels than we had
assumed and at levels which have been inadequate to pay minimum principal
on the class A notes and certificates in full, or to pay any interest
or minimum principal on the class B notes or any interest on the class
C and class D notes and certificates since the December 15, 2003 payment
date. Even though, as a result of the consent solicitation which we
conducted in 2003, we are now able to sell aircraft which we may not
have been able to sell previously, such sales are difficult to achieve
and where sales have been completed, the sales proceeds have not made
a significant difference to our cashflows. On each payment date, we
are currently only paying in full our administrative and lease expenses
and certain other payments in the ordinary course of business, interest
on the class A notes and certificates and hedging payments, and the
First Collection Account Top-Up. We use any remaining cashflows
towards payment of minimum principal on the subclass A-9 notes and certificates.
We do not believe that we will ever be able to resume making payments
of interest or principal on the class B, C and D notes and certificates,
and we do not expect to be able to repay the subclass A-9 notes and
certificates in full.
Further
Information
For a full description of Airplanes Group and our performance to date
please see our latest Annual Report, Quarterly Report or Monthly Cash
Report which can be viewed by clicking on the following link: Reports.
Please note that the information contained in these documents should
be considered updated and superseded by the information contained in
any such document which is dated as of a later date. To contact Airplanes
Group you may send an email to its Administrative Agent at: airplanes@aercap.com